Memory and Executive Functions in Alexithymia

Vermeulen, Nicolas; Domachowska, Irena; Nielson, Kristy A.

doi:10.1017/9781108241595.007

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Alexithymia is fundamentally a difficulty of processing emotive content (Vermeulen et al, 2006). Thus, emotion words receive less boost from salience (Luminet et al, 2006), making encoding and retrieval of emotive information particularly difficult (Vermeulen et al, 2018). Conversely, alexithymia is frequently associated with functional somatic symptoms (Taylor, Parker, Bagby, & Acklin, 1992), making illness-related information more salient and better remembered (Meltzer & Nielson, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Memory is altered by alexithymia in emotional contexts (see Vermeulen et al, 2018). However, studies with larger samples are needed to verify whether memory alterations in alexithymia might be apparent for neutral memoranda, particularly in neutral contexts, and to further probe specific facet(s) of alexithymia.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evidence is accumulating that alexithymia contributes to deficits in learning and memory specifically for emotional information and contexts (Dressaire et al, 2015;Jacob & Hautekeete, 1998;Luminet et al, 2006;Meltzer & Nielson, 2010;Suslow, Kersting, & Arolt, 2003;Vermeulen & Luminet, 2009;Vermeulen, Domachowska, & Nielson, 2018;Vermeulen, Toussaint, & Luminet, 2010), while memory for neutral memoranda appears intact. Yet, such studies typically examined neutral material in the context of emotion.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Correro et al, 2016;Lamberty & Holt, 1995;Onor et al, 2010;Santorelli & Ready, 2015). Yet, after age 30, increasing age is associated with increasing alexithymia (Mattila, Salminen, Nummi, & Joukamaa, 2006;Onor et al, 2010), as well as with neural dysfunction, particularly involving frontal lobe function and circuits, that results in declining EF and memory over time (Charlton et al, 2008;Goerlich & Aleman, 2018;Vermeulen et al, 2018). Thus, it is essential to delineate the unique contributions of alexithymia and age to cognitive functioning, and to better isolate the facets of alexithymia that result in cognitive deficits, to help clarify and address the underlying mechanisms of cognitive effects of alexithymia.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The role of alexithymia in memory and executive functioning across the lifespan

Correro

Paitel

Byers

et al. 2019

Cognition and Emotion

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Alexithymia is a personality trait characterised by difficulties identifying feelings (DIF), describing feelings (DDF), and externally oriented thinking (EOT). Alexithymia has been associated with poorer memory, at least for emotive materials, and recently, with executive and neural dysfunction. Aging is also accompanied by poorer memory and executive functioning (EF), neural dysfunction, and increasing alexithymia. Thus, the hypothesis of a general cognitive impairment in alexithymia, particularly in elders, needs investigation. Three large, independent, cross-sectional experiments (n = 296, 139 and 121, respectively) investigated memory and EF in healthy adults, ranging from young to old adulthood, with age, sex, and the three Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 subscales (DIF, DDF, EOT) as predictors in hierarchical regressions. Across studies, alexithymia contributed to poorer memory (via EOT) and EF (via DIF), in younger and older adults. Additionally, these effects occurred in non-emotive contexts with neutral stimuli. Moreover, although memory was worse with greater age and poor EF contributed to poor memory, those who had both high EOT and poor EF had particularly poor memory. Thus, alexithymia (particularly via high DIF or high EOT) is a risk factor for age-related cognitive decline. Further research should clarify the direction and nature of these complex relationships.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The role of alexithymia in memory and executive functioning across the lifespan

Correro

Paitel

Byers

et al. 2019

Cognition and Emotion

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This research could capitalize on the many advances that have been used in recent decades in the study of the mechanisms and functional consequences of alexithymia. These include, but are not limited to, structural and functional neuroimaging techniques, autonomic and other psychophysiological measures, basic cognitive functions including encoding and retrieval of episodic and semantic memories, priming and implicit processing, working memory, linguistic abilities, conceptualization and categorization skills, and executive functioning, as well as basic bodily and affective functions including interoceptive abilities, affect labeling, emotion recognition and emotion knowledge [95,96]. Such research would also provide a context for exploring variations as a function of age, sex, socio-economic status, years of education [33], cultural/ethnic background as well as the contributions of genetics, the early childhood environment (e.g.…”

Section: Future Research On Affective Processing Deficits In Alexithymiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Affective agnosia: a core affective processing deficit in the alexithymia spectrum

Lane

Solms

Weihs

et al. 2020

BioPsychoSocial Med

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Affective agnosia, an impairment in knowing how one feels emotionally, has been described as an extreme deficit in the experience and expression of emotion that may confer heightened risk for adverse medical outcomes. Alexithymia, by contrast, has been proposed as an over-arching construct that includes a spectrum of deficits of varying severity, including affective agnosia at the more severe end. This perspective has been challenged by Taylor and colleagues, who argue that the concept of affective agnosia is unnecessary. We compare these two perspectives by highlighting areas of agreement, reasons for asserting the importance of the affective agnosia concept, errors in Taylor and colleagues' critique, and measurement issues. The need for performance-based measures of the ability to mentally represent emotional states in addition to metacognitive measures is emphasized. We then draw on a previously proposed three-process model of emotional awareness that distinguishes affective response generation, conceptualization and cognitive control processes which interact to produce a variety of emotional awareness and alexithymia phenotypes-including affective agnosia. The tools for measuring these three processes, their neural substrates, the mechanisms of brain-body interactions that confer heightened risk for adverse medical outcomes, and the differential treatment implications for different kinds of deficits are described. By conceptualizing alexithymia as a spectrum of deficits, the opportunity to match specific deficit mechanisms with personalized treatment for patients will be enhanced.

show abstract

Recall bias in emotional intensity ratings: investigating person-level and event-level predictors

Ottenstein

Lischetzke

2019

Motiv Emot

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Memory and Executive Functions in Alexithymia

Cited by 10 publications

References 39 publications

The role of alexithymia in memory and executive functioning across the lifespan

The role of alexithymia in memory and executive functioning across the lifespan

Affective agnosia: a core affective processing deficit in the alexithymia spectrum

Recall bias in emotional intensity ratings: investigating person-level and event-level predictors

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About